1

SOGETSU IKEBANA QUEENSLAND INC. http://www.ikebanabrisbane.org.au

https://www.facebook.com/ikebanabrisbane

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2017 Editor Judith McCulloch

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Congratulations to everyone on a fabulous 2017 annual exhibition Symphony of Movement, at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha Auditorium, Toowong. This year the exhibition was attended by over 450 people. Mr Dale Arvidsson, Curator, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, opened the exhibition highlighting his early and ongoing interest in ikebana.

I wish to again thank Vernisher, our Exhibition Chairperson, who put in a lot of hard work leading up to the exhibition as well as being at everyone’s beck and call on the set-up days, Thursday and Friday. Once again, we received many favourable comments about the beautiful displays in the Auditorium. It is great that many of our members have been involved in our exhibitions over a considerable number of years and to see them joined this year by the next generation of enthusiastic Sogetsu ikebanists means our future is looking bright. On the other hand, we farewelled John and Kimio who have decided that 2017 is their last year as exhibitors.

Special thanks go to Michelle and all her willing and hardworking helpers on the trade table, to Ingrid in the kitchen who supervised a very well drilled and organised band of coffee/tea makers serving up tasty home-made delights to our appreciative attendees, and to Sandra for ensuring that we had “welcomers” at our front desk.

Our demonstrators, Vernisher, Pat, Judith, Sue and Jan are to be congratulated on their wonderful presentations. Thanks also to Chieko, Judith and Pat for their informative tours. Our hands-on classes again proved very popular with close to 30 people attending on each day. Thanks to Rosalie and Chieko, and their helpers, for conducting these classes.

Those who attended left with smiles on their faces, along with the flowers they used. Most of the material was sourced from our own and neighbouring gardens. A big thank you in particular to Carolyn and also to the others who contributed.

In past years, the coffee tables have been decorated with Camellias from Carolyn’s garden but this year, one of our members, Belinda-lee, volunteered to make up small arrangements for these tables, for sale. She worked tirelessly on Friday afternoon, and through the weekend, to keep up with the demand, turning out beautiful miniature ikebana arrangements in bamboo containers. Japan Day, held annually at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha was on Sunday, the second day of our exhibition. Sogetsu members were again invited to be involved. Sue, Chieko and Michelle provided the arrangements, which were placed alongside arrangements by the Ohara School in the Japanese Garden. I appreciate the willingness of these members to showcase Sogetsu ikebana at Japan Day, despite the pressures of doing arrangements for our exhibition, as well as well as carrying out their other associated tasks. This shows a real commitment to Sogetsu ikebana.

**On Wednesday, 6 September a workshop will be conducted by Kaye Vosburgh who holds a Riji Certificate and is the current President of the Boston Ikebana International. I’d encourage you all to come along to what should be a creative morning.

Keep enjoying your ikebana.

Catherine Purdon

2

What a privilege and an honour to be granted local Life Membership of the Sogetsu Ikebana Queensland Inc. I was completely overwhelmed when the invitation was offered to me earlier this year, so thank you to the members of the committee for having the

faith in me to honour me with such a gift. At the time of being granted this honour, I was undergoing a knee replacement, and my journey for that has not yet f in ished .

When I look back over nearly 40 years involvement with Sogetsu Ikebana both in Townsville and then Brisbane, it amazes me how much this art form has changed over time. When I look at my various certificates and see the changes in Headmasters alone – Ms Kasumi Teshigahara, Mr. Hiroshi Teshigahara and Ms Akane Teshigahara. I notice the different sty les each Headmaster has brought and taught along the way. I think of the many workshops and exhibitions I have attended over those years, and the teachings received from each of those leaders.

It all goes to show that Sogetsu Ikebana is an evolving art form and is forever changing, so we must be prepared to adapt to the changes or we will be left behind doing the same type of arrangement year after year.

One clear memory I have was a workshop I attended in Melbourne many years ago, under the leadership of the late Norman Sparnon, and before we created the particular arrangement at the time, we were asked to “draw our concept” and he would check it first. This was very innovative at the time and many found it difficult to “draw their concept”. Some felt it wasn’t needed, as they had been doing Ikebana for many years and did not need a “concept”. They were soon told where to go and what to do.

I keep going back to that experience because it reminds me that once again with Book 5, Sogetsu Ikebana is continuing to evolve.

So thank you to all the members of Sogetsu Ikebana Queensland for honouring me in such a way, and I wish you all the best for a wonderful and exciting Ikebana year and many more to come.

Shirley Behan

LOCAL LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARDED TO SHIRLEY BEHAN

Shirley with her certificate

Reproduced from Townsville newsletter March 2004

Greetings from the Director…….. Another year has commenced and the Townsville group wish you all a wonderful, exciting and challenging time ahead. What particular kind of Ikebana year will you have? I hope that 2004 will find your group having some or all of the following:- I INTERACTION –I am talking about not only interaction between student and student, group and group, but also that it will find itself between flowers and student and student and container, thus bringing a more harmonious conclusion. K KALEIDOSCOPE—Looking through a kaleidoscope we see many facets of colour. They are never the same colours, ever-changing all the time. It has varying symmetrical and multiple selections being displayed on rotation. I see this applying not only to our ikebana arrangements but also to the way in which each group (or committee) is managed. I like the term “ever-changing”. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every two years, each Branch could see an “ever-changing” committee, bringing new and varying facets of ideas to the group? E ENCOUNTER—How many unexpected encounters have you had with your Ikebana? Maybe you’ve seen a gloss on a leaf or the brilliant colours of a flower? Possibly it has been a chance meeting while you have been walking through a garden, and you have discovered something that has caught your attention—a patterned leaf? an unusual pod? a twisted branch? About encounters, Sofu says “Ikebana is about encounters. All of Ikebana is about random encounters which are given meaning.” B BALANCE— How often this word comes up in Ikebana; for the art of Ikebana is about “balance”. There are three types of balance, symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial. It is asymmetrical balance that Ikebana is involved with. Asymmetry is achieved when the object is balanced without the two halves being identical and it is this balance that is so prevalent in Ikebana. Th is is someth ing we must all look for in our arrangements. A ARRANGEMENT—Like a potter who creates a pot, so you too are an artist creating an ikebana arrangement. However, when the potter finishes the final touches on his pot, he places it on a shelf. It remains motionless forever. When an Ikebana artist creates an arrangement, it is not meant to last forever. Ikebana is a transient art—here but for a short time. Ikebana is an art of the moment. However, enjoy the moment, but continue to practise, practise, and more practise and the qualities which are your true self, your basic nature underneath the layers of conditioning will rise to the surface. N NATURE—As Japanese philosophy has it, you cannot dictate to nature. The only alternative is to put yourself in the secondary position and let nature dictate to you. When this happens you are truly on the road to successful Ikebana. Mr. Sofu says “capturing nature means making nature into something of your own. Humans add to nature” A ACHIEVEMENTS—It is true that the highest expression of human nature is the job of creating—but the highest expression of an Ikebana artist is the feeling of achievement when creating an Ikebana arrangement. Happy “Ikebana-ing” this year!

Shirley Behan

3

DEMONSTRATION AT FERNY GROVE GARDEN CLUB

Earlier in the year, Ferny Grove Garden Club invited Sogetsu ikebana to one of the Club’s meetings to give a talk and do some demonstrations. I attended their meeting at St Matthews Church Hall, Mitchelton on Friday, 30 June 2017.

I was welcomed by their Secretary, Elizabeth Teed who then introduced me to the rest of the group, a total of about 25. I commenced with a brief talk on the history of Sogetsu ikebana and then did six demonstrations, starting with a basic moribana, the rest being freestyle.

The members were very appreciative of the variety of arrangements I did. In the photo, I am with the President of the Club and the arrangement in the glass container certainly surprised a few members of the group with its novelty. Following afternoon tea, I left them to their meeting.

Catherine Purdon

QUEENSLAND COUNCIL OF GARDEN CLUBS

His Excellency the Governor of Queensland invited two members of Sogetsu ikebana to attend a morning tea for The Queensland Council of Garden Clubs and the launch of the rose ‘Queensland Gold’, at Government House, Paddington, on Tuesday, 18 July 2017.

Vernisher Wooh and I attended the launch at which His Excellency the Governor of Queensland The Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, officiated. The rose was planted in one of the formal gardens at Government House.

We spoke to many of the members from the various Garden Clubs, who expressed interest in Sogetsu ikebana. We handed out some exhibition flyers to some club members and one group was going to forward the flyer, via email, onto other clubs.

Catherine Purdon

Those members who knew her were sorry to hear

that Jackie Frauenfelder passed away on 8 August

2017, aged 92. She taught Sogetsu Ikebana for many

years at the Gold Coast and was former ly a

member of this Branch.

Vernisher ’s students , Michel le Wong and Corina Yip,

received their 4th Grade Teacher Diplomas.

Members doing ikebana before the General Meeting on 19 July

4

ENJOY SOME VIEWS OF OUR RECENT EXHIBITION

A welcome from Phil, Wendy and Tomomi

Morning and afternoon tea offered by Ingrid,

Corina and Wendy

Activity at the trade table

After her demonstration Vernisher discussed

ikebana with members of the audience Rosalie with workshop

participants

Pat with an interested group on her guided tour of

the exhibition

Members of the committee—L to R: Carolyn, Chieko, Sandra, Vernisher, Catherine, Michelle, Ingrid, Karen

and Sue

Thank you to all at the close of the Exhibition for 2017

Ikebana by Pat, Wendy, Sallyanne, Belinda-lee Ikebana by Catherine A general view of the exhibition on Sunday